Five Things You Should Never Say to Your Translator (and Five Polite Replies)

Here you can see the most polite answers I have ever seen to some silly questions clients ask their translators!

Finding the right translator can be tough, I get that. But it’s no different from finding the right doctor, dentist, lawyer, or any other professional service provider. Yet, when approaching a translator, clients will often say things they probably would never say to any other professional. This is the top five on my list of things no translator wants to hear, and the gist of my most polite replies.

I would translate it myself, but I simply don’t have the time.

I am sure you have excellent language skills and a great command of the target language; however, you are not a qualified translator and (every time I’ve heard this one) not a native speaker of the target language either. Doing it yourself can be a fun challenge on a personal level, but it can also mean business or professional suicide. A translator’s skills go far beyond command of the…